Page 81 - Appendix A

Ivan: Okay I got you, I mean from your experience, looking back on it. I only know from
history that there were only so many airframes. Do you think, I mean from what

you saw, as going past that and getting a slot, like right now we could point to the
number of airframes we have in the Air Force and say 'oh there is a pilot shortage,
we don’t have enough butts to put in seats so to speak. Was it your experience
that we didn’t have enough airframes or?

Bob: No that wasn’t really a factor.

Ivan: Okay.

Bob: Somewhere along there when we got, I think it was ‘44, the latter part of ’43 or
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44 we had four squadrons over in Europe. The whole 332 fighter group was over
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there. The 99 was separate at the time but once they got all three squadrons
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over and the Composite Group of the 332nd fighter group, the 99 was ordered
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back from the attachment they had with the white groups back to the 332 . And
the Tuskegee Airmen was the only group with four squadrons. The normal
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composition of squadrons at that time was three squadrons. And the 332 fighter
group was the only outfit over there with four squadrons. Which is not the normal
set up. And they decided at that time with the guys continually graduating and
getting ready to go overseas, they did not want any more black overseas pilots.

They did not want anymore because they weren’t going to start another group.
They weren’t going to put them with attachment to white groups and all that.
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They had a group over there 332 and that was it. And all the pilots that were
graduating continued to fly and gain more experience here in the States waiting
for something to happen. And then of course the Air Corps got wind that people
were wondering why they're not sending these blacks overseas when they needed
fighter pilots over there or whatever. They weren’t sending them overseas. They
were here in the states flying around at Tuskegee. So then they came up with the
idea that they would start the 477th Bomb Group so that you know they'll have
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something for them to do. And in my opinion, the 477 Bomb Group was never
envisioned to be completed and be a full-scale bomber group ready to go
overseas.

Ivan: Wow.

Bob: Anytime that things happened in training, well first of all they went to Godman Air
Base which is a small airfield like one of the little, like Glendale airport here in